Two Fish

thirty || elver

Elver and Alaska stood in the middle of the field, a bubble of disappointment surrounding them both.

“I don’t understand. Cathy and I always came to this exact field. They were everywhere,” Elver said, frowning at the gorse bushes and weeds around them.

“Er, maybe if we go through there,” Alaska suggested hopelessly, motioning to a nearby style. Elver sighed but plodded over. He almost squealed in delight.

“Look, Alaska, look!” he cried, beckoning her forward.

“Brilliant,” Alaska said coolly as she started stomping down the interrupting nettles. They clambered over the style and Elver rushed to the closest blackberry bush.

“The game is on, Elver. Whoever gets the most blackberries wins,” Alaska said, narrowing her eyes at an overly-excited Elver.

“Game on,” he half whispered, already scouring the bush for the best berries. Alaska leant to reach the juiciest fruit and a blackberry squashed against her chest, leaving a big purple stain.

“See why we need the shirts, now?” Elver said, expertly dodging a cluster of brambles to pluck a gang of blackberries. Alaska smiled and nodded, examining the stain. She sucked the remainder of a blackberry off her thumb.

Ten minutes later, the bush was bare of berries within grasp.

“Come on, over here,” Elver said, taking Alaska’s elbow. He pulled her along to another bulging bush, surrounded by nettles and thorns. Soon, both plastic freezer bags were bulging with fat blackberries. Alaska was a natural, scrambling through the thorns with incredibly dexterity. Elver fumbled through the brambles and was reaching for one more when a short, searing pain shot through his thumb.

“Ouch!” he yelped, jumping back from the bush. He examined the thorn stuck in his thumb.

“What’s up?” Alaska asked.

“I’ve got a thorn,” he said. She took Elver’s hand and squinted at the tiny spike, fully embedded in the pad of Elver’s thumb. “I can try to get it out, if you want.”

“Thanks.” Elver smiled and allowed Alaska to hold his hand in hers. She squeezed it and he yelped again, pulling his hand away from her.

“Ouch. Can’t you do it a little more gently?” He grimaced.

“This is the only way,” Alaska said, lifting his hand right up to her eyes. Elver felt her breath against his fingers and he smiled. Alaska pincered the thorn between her thumbnails, pushing down and squeezing until Elver gave a final yelp and she held up the thorn for him to see. It was only a couple of millimetres long.

“Thank you,” Elver said, rubbing his sore, red thumb.

“My pleasure. I’ve had my fair share of thumb thorns,” Alaska said. She slipped her hand into Elver’s and a warm frisson of excitement bubbled up inside him. They walked, hand in hand, down the field, laughing and smiling, chatting and joking. They hit another jackpot and Elver grinned.

“Here we go, I’m gonna win,” he said, weighing down his bulging back in his hand.

“What are you on about? Mine’s way more full than yours,” Alaska said, reaching to compare the bags but Elver swiped his away.

“Nope, no way. You’ll take some of mine,” Elver said, tucking it behind his back

“I wasn’t actually, but now you mention it.” Alaska grinned and jumped to grab the bag, but Elver was too quick. He leapt backwards and lost a few blackberries on the way. Alaska giggled lunged forward to grab the couple that had plumped onto the soft grass. Both of them stepped forward at the same time. Their feet caught and Alaska fell on top of Elver. For a moment they blushed furiously, before they laughed. Alaska rolled over so she was right next to him. Their hands soon found each other.

They lay together in the blazing sun, squashing the daisies beneath them. Hands held, gazing up at the blue sky and smiling. Elver was the first to speak.

“Close your eyes,” he said.

“Why?”

“Just do it. And open your mouth”

She did, just a little. He pushed a blackberry past her teeth. She sucked it and beamed.

“They’re delicious,” she said, propping herself up on her elbows. “Here.” Taking one from her own pile, she fed it to Elver. He inhaled at the wrong time and spluttered before he swallowed it.

“They are,” he said eventually. Alaska licked her fingers and ate a couple more. Elver did the same and they lay back down. Alaska kicked her legs in the air, staring at her feet.

“Doesn’t this look weird?” she said. Elver copied her.

“Uh, I guess. What, your feet?”

“Yeah. From this angle.”

They were a right pair, lying in a field surrounded by berries, staring at their ankles. Now, they were so close that their arms were pressed together, their hands entwined.

“Oh,” Elver said, crestfallen. Alaska sat bolt upright.

“What is it, are you ok?” she asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Elver laughed.

“Nothing awful. Look.” he gestured towards the bags. The berries had spilled out and rolled down the hill, some squashed and the rest gone. Alaska sighed.

“That took ages,” she grunted.

“Yeah.”

“What were we gonna do with those blackberries?” Alaska asked.

“I can’t tell you.” Elver smiled mysteriously. Alaska huffed.

“Why not?”

He still didn’t answer but he pulled Alaska back down and she let him. Her hair spread out behind her, some of it caught on Elver’s ear and he thanked the wind for blowing it. Alaska’s eyes sparkled in the sun and Elver pulled her back up.

She didn’t let go of his hand as they walked. She didn’t let go of his hand as they reached the style. And she didn’t let go of his hand when they got back to where they had started. After their hunt, the blackberry bushes were left with only small, hard, unripe berries. Alaska groaned.

“That’s so annoying. They took ages to pick,” she said, gazing wistfully at the disappointing bushes, plucking the two remaining berries. She popped one into her mouth and the other into Elver’s, grazing her fingers on his lips. “And now they’re all gone.”

“But that doesn’t matter, does it?” Elver took her berry-stained hand and squeezed it.

“How come? Wasn’t that the whole point of coming here?”

Elver grinned. “Well, you were with me. Surely that beats anything else,” he joked. But Alaska didn’t laugh. She rested her head on his shoulder and held out their hands between them.

“Actually, Elver, I think you’re right.”